Wednesday, 28 November 2012

Practical Guide to Write a PhD Thesis

Nader Ale Ebrahim, Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya

Abstract

This presentation is a practical guide on how to write a PhD thesis based on personal experiences and existing literature . It is aimed at all PhD students. A thesis writing may be falling into six rules: Identifying the research problem Start thesis writing from a day after registration Writing a Thesis Plan Ask your supervisors: What are theirexpectations? and maintain regular contact with your supervisors directly/indirectly Expand networking Continuously write/revise and Publish Besides of the six rules, the thesis structure, logical coherence and style are also important. This presentation lead how to considerreader’s expectations during the writing procedure. In order to assist the researchers to reduce the writing procedure, the relevant “Research Tools” will be introduced.

Abstract: In the competitive market, virtual teams represent a growing response to the need for fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Virtual teams enable organizations to pool the talents and expertise of employees and non-employees by eliminating time and space barriers. Nowadays, companies are heavily investing in virtual team to enhance their performance and competitiveness. Despite virtual teams growing prevalence, relatively little is known about this new form of team. Hence the study offers an extensive literature review with definitions of virtual teams and a structured analysis of the present body of knowledge of virtual teams. First, we distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams, different types of virtual teams to identify where current knowledge applies. Second, we distinguish what is needed for effective virtual team considering the people, process and technology point of view and underlying characteristics of virtual teams and challenges they entail. Finally, we have identified and extended 12 key factors that need to be considered, and describes a methodology focused on supporting virtual team working, with a new approach that has not been specifically addressed in the existing literature and some guide line for future research extracted. Number of Pages in PDF File: 17Keywords: Virtual team, Literature review, Effective virtual team Accepted Paper Series

Abstract: In this paper, advantages and drawbacks of virtual teams in research and development (R&D) are studied. With the globalization of commercial practices and advances in information and communication technologies, increasing numbers of enterprises are establishing cross-functional, geographically distributed virtual teams. Virtual teams in R&D are designed to access external resources and knowledge to maximize the competitive advantage from limited labor and resources. A survey has been conducted on 210 Malaysian and Iranian manufacturing companies, aimed to investigate the characteristics of R&D collaborations and extract the main advantages/disadvantages’ factors of virtual teams. These factors can be a guide line for R&D manager to achieve better performance of virtual teams. Number of Pages in PDF File: 5Keywords: Virtual Teams, Research and Developments, Survey FindingJEL Classification: L1, L11, L7, M11, M12, M1, Q32, Q31, M54, O1, O3, O32, P42, P24, L17, L15, Z, N6 Accepted Paper Series

In honor of Cyber Monday, we’re celebrating the benefits of working virtually!Increased Productivity
Virtual teams aren’t limited by the distractions of typical offices. There are no water cooler distractions or constant interruptions. Many studies have proven that virtual teams work longer and harder than their counterparts in office buildings.Better Tools & Systems
To effectively work in cyberspace, virtual teams utilize a number of tools and systems to communicate and stay organized. This tends to lead to increased creativity and accountability.Expert Team
When not limited by proximity (good parking, subway, childcare), you are free to hire the best of the best. This opens up your business to a world of opportunities, literally.Reduced Costs
Most virtual teams are paid by the hour or project, meaning you only pay for what you require. You don’t pay for coffee or lunch breaks, computers or any other of the many expenses required for a typical office. *And keep in mind that there are reduced costs to the virtual support team, with no parking, travel, lunch, dry cleaning, etc. Overall, win, win, win for all including the environment.Less Impact on the Environment
By eliminating the need to commute, virtual workers eliminate pollution from transportation. Eliminating commuting time also ensures virtual workers start their day fresh and ready to dive in.
The bottom line is that virtual teams are constantly growing and are here to stay. As technology continues to develop, more and more individuals will choose to work virtually. Corporations have already begun to follow suit and will continue to do so as they realize the potential benefits.Benefits and Pitfalls of Virtual R&D Teams: An Empirical Study| Show Abstract | Download |

Go Virtual or Lose Your Ability to Compete

Posted on November 26th, 2012 by Keith Ferrazzi

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A couple years ago, I made a decision that went sharply against the grain. I forced office hours on my staff.
My decision caught a few staffers and colleagues off-guard. After all, I’m the one who has long advocated for workplace flexibility and greater trust as the foundation of our professional relationships. But I felt the size of my firm and its fast growth required face-to-face contact to strengthen our culture. The push back I got made me start to research the larger issue of managing employee performance in the virtual workplace. But office hours remained in force.
With the research now well underway, I have to confess: I was wrong. To help me make amends, I hope you can join me for a webcast on December 5 at 12 noon EST. I promise to help you make your virtual teams hold their own or even outperform co-located teams.
You'll learn from the experiences of pioneers who took real arrows for their virtual efforts but now enjoy a real advantage. IBM eliminated its regional offices years ago only to learn that “tacit knowledge” was not being transferred readily among its employees. Such informal learning often makes up the lion’s share of what we need to know to do our jobs. But with spontaneous conversations at the water cooler and after-work drinks with the team at the local Bennigan’s no longer a frequent occurrence, IBM employees had fewer opportunities to discuss common problems and trade “war stories” of how they overcame difficult challenges. Where staff once joked that IBM stood for “I've been moved,” the acronym in their jokes changed to "I'm by myself.'" In the new virtual world: "Internet's best meetings."
In the current phase of our research, just completed, we investigated fundamentals of the virtual workplace. The results and insights have been based on our own expertise and experience, as well as a series of interviews conducted with dozens of scientists and researchers. We stand on giant virtual shoulders, as you'll learn during the webcast.
Join us. And bring your questions! We'll share our best insights and very specific tips on how to manage by the new people rules of the increasingly virtual world. But we hope a few of your questions result in us scratching our head and promising to get back to you, even as we provide a number of managerial best practices for the virtual workplace.
The virtual workplace is here to stay. That’s why we initially launched this research project and why we are committed to continuing it for years to come. We are learning how the virtual workplace has enabled the flattening of organizational structures and requires new types of leadership. We can share our initial findings on how to manage virtual partnerships among companies. And we will show how employee relationships are changing in fundamental ways. The virtual workplace is an undeniable reality of corporate life. Join us, and learn how to get better at managing it. At stake is nothing less than our ability to compete.

You Need To Really Know Every Person To Make A Virtual Team Work

ноември 26, 2012

One of the most dominant trends in the workplace is the rise of the virtual team. Whether by design or necessity, more and more people are working outside the office but on the same sorts of multi-person long term projects with the same demands for teamwork as always.
For insight, we spoke to Katherine Graham-Leviss, the founder of XBInsights, a data-based talent assessment and coaching company which itself has a network of coaches that work virtually.
By far the most important thing is that managers know the members of their virtual teams, and put the time in to know how they like to communicate in that environment. They can use that information to motivate them and avoid the behavioral pitfalls that occur in a virtual environment.
Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation:How can employers motivate employees when they have less face time?
There are a couple of consistencies that I see in this, and one, it's really about communications skills. Oftentimes people don't have good communication skills and its a real issue, and the other thing that I see, it's tough virtually for executives that we deal with to keep their finger on the pulse of what people are doing without constantly calling people. I think that communication piece is really critical.
The kind of work that I do and where I really get involved is in that communication piece and really helping leaders understand each of their direct reports' real communications preferences and needs, because once they understand those things, they can be much more effective in reading, guiding, directing, and motivating each individual. I think it's really up to the leader or the manager to really understand those communication preferences of each individual and put those into action.Are there certain communications issues that execs have that are amplified in a virtual setting?
I think that there are a couple of things that happen. So for example, a lot of times, there's email communication in a virtual environment. Email communications get misread. Things aren't conveyed in the proper way because you can't see the body language of people and the visual cues, and so a lot of times information will be miscommunicated. Especially, and this is probably more obvious, in situations where there may be conflict.Are there particular steps that can be taken to avoid Miscommunication?
Some people prefer — and are comfortable with — email communication. Others need verbal communication and interaction. And others need a combination of both of those things, and so the work that I do is really around understanding the communication preferences of each individual and what works best for each individual, because we've found that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work.So the best thing to motivate and boost morale is being aware of individual preferences?
That's right. You have to a have a communication strategy that really caters to each individual in order to be truly effective.Is there a particular communications strategy that's best for motivating virtual teams?
I will tell you that if you have any visual communication technology, it's really much more effective. In the absence of more high tech options, a lot of our teams are using Skype and any technology like that where they can get some of that visual communication and interaction. ...[O]ur team does of a lot of forward work, so we tend to be good listeners, good phone communicators, but not everybody is. As a matter of fact, most people aren't. And so, any time you can take advantage of that type of technology, you should, more and more. My team is asked to do global coaching and we use that technology in the absence of any high tech stuff.Are there additional issues with high maintenance team members with less face time?
My definition of a high maintenance employee would also be somebody who's a high performer. In that case what happens is you have to really clearly communicate the expectations and be on the same page with them. What they tend to do is anything to get the results. They'll break the rules, they'll plow over other people. They're so driven that they tend not to think about how other people might be thinking or receiving the way in which they communicate, and that's why I think that it's so important — for that person in particular — that there's consistent and open communication with very clear feedback and expectations. The issue with those kinds of people is that they don't want to be evaluated on the process, they want to be evaluated on the fact that they got the result, so they like autonomy, but there's got to be some clear communication and guidelines so they don't create a mess.
Once leaders understand that they have to set those guidelines and those boundaries then even managing high maintenance, high performance employees becomes easier.How can you find the best people for a virtual team and keep them motivated?
I think that not everybody's built to work virtually. A lot of our coaches who have been with me 9 and 10 years work out of their homes. And there are some who need to go to an office every day, so we've set up offices even though as a team we work virtually, because they need to go to that office; it's too difficult for them to work in their home setting. A lot of times we're looking at scientific assessment data because we're using our profile system to hire people. The data can point to, not will somebody work well in a virtual team, but can they work well independently, and what is it that they really need. Some people really need that people interaction, some people need that structure. If they're in a virtual environment and we know those things, we can better set them up for success.So find the data, know your people, and build some structure for them?
That's right. And find some consistency in how you interact with them.How do you plan with having to work unexpectedly as a virtual team?
I see this one all the time. I have a client — we were just talking about this — that there are certain people who are very good at multitasking and they can work [on] the road, but what ends up happening when you have a team doing that and they're out of the office a lot is that everybody has their own individual agendas, and there's a lack of communication and all of the consistent team types of communication fall to the wayside because everybody's traveling. It really becomes a big issue. And with a lack of a plan and a strategy and check ins and checkpoints and virtual staff communications that [are] mandatory, it really becomes a problem, so there's got to be a communication plan for how people are expected to interact and show up and communicate when everybody's on the road.So when it comes to keeping a virtual team motivated, structure can be even more important?
Yes.

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

100 Search Engines For Academic Research

140 Back in 2010, we shared with you 100 awesome search engines and research resources in our post: 100 Time-Saving Search Engines for Serious Scholars. It’s been an incredible resource, but now, it’s time for an update. Some services have moved on, others have been created, and we’ve found some new discoveries, too. Many of our original 100 are still going strong, but we’ve updated where necessary and added some of our new favorites, too. Check out our new, up-to-date collection to discover the very best search engine for finding the academic results you’re looking for.GeneralNeed to get started with a more broad search? These academic search engines are great resources.

iSEEK Education:iSeek is an excellent targeted search engine, designed especially for students, teachers, administrators, and caregivers. Find authoritative, intelligent, and time-saving resources in a safe, editor-reviewed environment with iSEEK.

RefSeek:With more than 1 billion documents, web pages, books, journals, newspapers, and more, RefSeek offers authoritative resources in just about any subject, without all of the mess of sponsored links and commercial results.

Virtual LRC:The Virtual Learning Resources Center has created a custom Google search, featuring only the best of academic information websites. This search is curated by teachers and library professionals around the world to share great resources for academic projects.

Academic Index:This scholarly search engine and web directory was created just for college students. The websites in this index are selected by librarians, teachers, and educational consortia. Be sure to check out their research guides for history, health, criminal justice, and more.

BUBL LINK:If you love the Dewey Decimal system, this Internet resource catalog is a great resource. Search using your own keywords, or browse subject areas with Dewey subject menus.

Infomine:The Infomine is an incredible tool for finding scholarly Internet resource collections, especially in the sciences.

Microsoft Academic Search:Microsoft’s academic search engine offers access to more than 38 million different publications, with features including maps, graphing, trends, and paths that show how authors are connected.

Meta Search
Want the best of everything? Use these meta search engines that return results from multiple sites all at once.

Dogpile:Find the best of all the major search engines with Dogpile, an engine that returns results from Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, with categories including Web, Images, Video, and even White Pages.

MetaCrawler:MetaCrawler makes it easy to “search the search engines,” returning results from Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.

Mamma:Check out the mother of all search engines to pin down the best resources on the web. Mamma even searches Twitter and job postings!

Databases and Archives
Resources like the Library of Congress have considerable archives and documents available, and many of them have taken their collections online. Use these search tools to get access to these incredible resources.

Archives Hub:Find the best of what Britain has to offer in the Archives Hub. You’ll be able to search archives from almost 200 institutions from England, Scotland, and Wales.

National Archives:Check out this resource for access to the National Archives. Find online, public access to find historic documents, research, government information, and more in a single search.

arXiv e-Print Archive:Cornell University’s arXiv.org offers open access to a wealth of e-prints in math, science, and related subjects. Search this resource to find what you need among 756,133 documents and counting.

NASA Historical Archive:Explore the history of space in this historical archive from NASA, highlighting space history and manned missions.

National Agricultural Library:A service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you can find global information for agriculture in the National Agricultural Library.

Smithsonian Institution Research Information System:Get access to the considerable resources of the Smithsonian Institution through the Research Information System, a great way to search more than 7.4 million records from the Smithsonian’s museums, archives, and libraries.

CIA World Factbook:As the center of intelligence, the CIA has certainly done its job with The World Factbook, offering information on major reference information around the world. History, people, government, economy, and more are all covered in this online publication.

State Legislative Websites Directory:Use this database to find information from the legislatures of all 50 U.S. states, DC, and the Territories. You can look up bills, statutes, legislators, and more with this excellent tool.

OpenDOAR:In the Directory of Open Access Repositories, you can search through freely academic research information with more directly useful resources.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications:Search through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications to find descriptive records for historical and current publications, with direct links where available.

Books & Journals
Instead of heading to the library to bury your face in the stacks, use these search engines to find out which libraries have the books you need, and maybe even find them available online.

WorldCat:Find items from 10,000 libraries worldwide, with books, DVDs, CDs, and articles up for grabs. You can even find your closest library with WorldCat’s tools.

Google Books:Supercharge your research by searching this index of the world’s books. You’ll find millions for free and others you can preview to find out if they’re what you’re looking for.

Scirus:For scientific information only, Scirus is a comprehensive research tool with more than 460 million scientific items including journal content, courseware, patents, educational websites, and more.

HighBeam Research:Research articles and published sources with HighBeam Research’s tools. You’ll not only be able to search for what you’re looking for, you can also choose from featured research topics and articles. Note: HighBeam is a paid service.

Vadlo:Vadlo is a life sciences search engine offering protocols, tools, and powerpoints for scientific research and discovery. Find what you’re looking for, and then stick around to check out the forums.

Open Library:Find the world’s classic literature, open e-books, and other excellent open and free resources in the Open Library. You can even contribute to the library with information, corrections to the catalog, and curated lists.

Google Scholar:Check out Google Scholar to find only scholarly resources on Google. The search specializes in articles, patents, and legal documents, and even has a resource for gathering your citations.

Bioline International:Search Bioline International to get connected with a variety of scientific journals. The search is managed by scientists and librarians as a collaborative initiative between Bioline Toronto and and the Reference Center on Environmental Information.

SpringerLink:Search through SpringerLink for electronic journals, protocols, and books in just about every subject possible. You can also browse publications by collection and content type.

Directory of Open Access Journals:When you need top-quality journal writings for free, the Directory of Open Access Journals is a great place to check out. You’ll get access to a searchable journal of full-text quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals.

Jurn:In this curated academic search engine, you’ll get results from over 4,000 free scholarly e-journals in the arts and humanities.

Science
With a focus on science, these academic search engines return all-science, all the time.

SciSeek:In this science search engine and directory, you’ll find the best of what the science web has to offer. Browse by category, search by keyword, and even add new sites to the listings.

Chem BioFinder:Register with PerkinElmer to check out the Chem BioFinder and look up information about chemicals, including their properties and reactions.

Biology Browser:Biology Browser is a great resource for finding research, resources, and information in the field of biology. You can also check out their Zoological Record and BIOSIS Previews.

Athenus:Athenus is an authority on science and engineering on the Web, sharing a directory and full-featured web search.

SciCentral:Use SciCentral as your gateway to the best sources in science. This site has a literature search, journals, databases, and other great tools for finding what you need.

Strategian:Strategian is a great place to find quality information in all fields of science. Featured resources include free full-text books, patents, and reports, as well as full-text journal and magazine articles, plus a special collection of Vintage Biology with important articles and books in biology.

Science.gov:In this government science portal, you can search more than 50 databases and 2,100 selected websites from 12 federal agencies. This is an incredible resource for millions of pages of U.S. government science information.

CERN Document Server:This organization for nuclear research serves up a great search and directory for experiments, archives, articles, books, presentations, and so much more within their documents.

WorldWideScience:Use WorldWideScience.org as a global science gateway, offering excellent search results in the sciences, and even the option to select specific databases and find resources in your own language.

Math & Technology
Keep your results limited to only the best math and technology resources by using these search engines.

MathGuide:Check out the MathGuide subject gateway to find online information sources in mathematics. The catalog offers not just a search, but a database of high quality Internet resources in math.

ZMATH Online Database:Zentralblatt MATH’s online database has millions of entries from thousands of serials and journals dating back as far as 1826. Nearly 35,000 items were added in 2012 alone.

Current Index to Statistics:In this bibliographic index, you’ll find publications in statistics, probability, and related fields. There are more than 160 preferred journals, plus selected articles from 1,200 more and 11,000 statistics books to draw from in this search.

Inspec:This database was made for scientists and engineers by the Institution of Engineering and Technology. You’ll find nearly 13 million abstracts and research literature, primarily in the fields of physics and engineering.

CiteSeerX:Get searchable access to the Scientific Research Digital Library by using the CiteSeerX website.

Social Science Research Network:In this research network, you can find a wide variety of social science research from a number of specialized networks including cognitive science, leadership, management, and social insurance.

Psycline:Find a journal with Psycline’s journal and article locator, a tool that offers access to more than 2,000 psychology and social science journals online.

Social Sciences Citation Index:The Thomson Reuters Social Sciences Citation Index is a paid tool, but well worth its cost for the wealth of relevant articles, search tools, and thorough resources available.

Ethnologue:Search the languages of the world with Ethnologue, offering an encyclopedic reference of all the world’s known living languages. You’ll also be able to find more than 28,000 citations in the Ethnologue’s language research bibliography.

SocioSite:Use this site from the University of Amsterdam to browse sociological subjects including activism, culture, peace, and racism.

The SocioWeb:Check out this guide to find all of the sociological resources you’ll need on the internet. The SocioWeb offers links to articles, essays, journals, blogs, and even a marketplace.

WikiArt:With this custom Google search engine, you can find open access articles about archaeology.

Encyclopedia of Psychology:Search or browse the Encyclopedia of Psychology to find basic information, and even translations for information about psychology careers, organizations, publications, people, and history.

Anthropology Review Database:Through this database, you can get access to anthropology reviews, look up publishers, and find resources available for review.

Anthropological Index Online:This anthropological online search includes both general search of 4,000 periodicals held in The British Museum Anthropology Library as well as Royal Anthropological Institute films.

Political Information olitical Information is a search engine for politics, policy, and political news with more than 5,000 carefully selected websites for political information.

History
Find awesome resources for history through these search engines that index original documents, sources, and archives.

Digital History:University of Houston’s Digital History database offers a wealth of links to textbook, primary sources, and educational materials in digital history. The database has multimedia, an interactive timeline, active learning, and resources for teachers.

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook:The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook is a great place to study human origins, with full text and search on topics including Mesopotamia, Rome, the Hellenistic world, Late Antiquity, and Christian origins.

History and Politics Out Loud:History and Politics Out Loud offers a searchable archive of important recordings through history, particularly politically significant audio materials.

History Engine:In this tool for collaborative education and research, students can learn history by researching, writing, and publishing, creating a collection of historical articles in U.S. history that can be searched for here by scholars, teachers, and the general public.

American History Online:Through American History Online, you can find and use primary sources from historical digital collections.

Business and Economics
Using these search engines, you’ll get access to business publications, journal articles, and more.

BPubs:Search the Business Publications Search Engine for access to business and trade publications in a tool that offers not just excellent browsing, but a focused search as well.

Virtual Library Labour History:Maintained by the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, this library offers historians excellent content for learning about economics, business, and more.

EconLit:Visit EconLit to access more than 120 years of economics literature from around the world in an easily searchable format. Find journal articles, books, book reviews, articles, working papers, and dissertations, as well as historic journal articles from 1886 to 1968.

Research Papers in Economics:Find research in economics and related sciences through the RePEc, a volunteer-maintained bibliographic database of working papers, articles, books, and even software components with more than 1.2 million research pieces.

Inomics:Economists will enjoy this excellent site for finding economics resources, including jobs, courses, and even conferences.

DailyStocks:Easily look up stocks with this search engine to monitor the stock market and your portfolio.

EDGAR Search:The SEC requires certain disclosures that can be helpful to investors, and you can find them all here in this helpful, next-generation system for searching electronic investment documents.

Other Niches
Find even more specialized information in these niche search engines.

PubMed:From the U.S. National Library of Medicine, PubMed is a great place to find full-text medical journal articles, with more than 19 million available.

Leadership in a Globalizing WorldLEADERSHIP AS A VOACTION: CELEBRATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MCCLOY PROGRAM AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Houben, Guido, Rusche, Tim, eds., Nomos, 2008Maximilian Martin
University of St. Gallen Date Posted: January 08, 2009
Accepted Paper Series130 downloads

Ethical Leadership in Professional LifeUniversity of St. Thomas Law Journal, 2009, University of St. Thomas School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 08-39Neil W. Hamilton
University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota) Date Posted: November 15, 2008Last Revised: January 12, 2010
Accepted Paper Series644 downloads

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About Me

Nader Ale Ebrahim has
a Technology Management PhD degree from the Department of Engineering
Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya
(UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He holds a Master of Science in the
mechanical engineering from University of Tehran, Iran.